(FYI: I will be adding pictures to go with the blog when my electronics start cooperating with me. Sorry.)

Last Sunday (April 6th), I took another day trip to Bratislava with a few other people. Bratislava is an interesting city; the main part of the city is very definitively split into two sections. On one side of the Danube, the lingering effects of the cold war are visible. When I climbed to the top of the UFO tower and looked out across the river, there were literally just miles and miles of socialist housing blocks. Some buildings were different colors, but other than that they were carbon copies of each other. However, on the other side of the Danube, the side with the Bratislavsky Hrad, the old town is visible along with individual homes. This side of the river is riddled with old homes and small cobblestone streets. The city has a lot of potential, and in another 20 years it could become another popular tourist destination in Europe.

Yet again, there wasn’t really a set plan of what to do when we arrived. We decided that the first course of action should be obtaining a map of the city (It proved much more difficult, than it sounds). After we ate, because finding maps makes you hungry, we set off to find the blue church. The Church of St. Elizabeth, aka The Blue Church, is a Hungarian Secessionist church. It’s called the Blue Church because it’s literally blue. Like all of it, every part, is blue. Though that may sound like an eye sore, it is actually beautiful. It stands out even more too, because across the street is what looked to be an abandoned health or living facility of some sort.

Next, we walked along the Danube River back to Novy Most. There we split off for a bit; they went to check out a museum, while I headed up to the UFO tower. The view is incredible. We met back up, and started our hike up to Bratislasky Hrad (literal translation: Bratislava Castle). Unfortunately, it was slightly hazy farther out from the city center. The castle itself was a little basic in design, but still pretty neat. At this point, we were all exhausted from wondering around the city and made our way back to the bus station. All in all it was a good day trip from Vienna.

Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

The weeks leading up to the midterms were particularly stressful, and not just because of studying; I had a very important decision to make: Croatia or Amsterdam. The last midterms ended in the middle of the week giving me a 5 day weekend. Before coming to Europe, there were only two places that I 100% wanted to visit. I knew that I would have two long breaks also; the first one would fall after German intensive and the second would fall during spring break. However, I didn’t think to plan my big trips properly and went to Italy during the intensive break (not that I’m disappointed about it). When the midterm break came up, it was the perfect solution to my Amsterdam/Croatia dilemma; seeing as how I couldn’t do either in a weekend. I had decided that I’d go to Croatia during that break, but after a last minute decision I chose to go to Amsterdam instead. Enough about my dilemmas though, let’s talk about the Dutch.

If I had to choose two adjectives to describe Amsterdam, they would have to be easy-going and rowdy. I know that sounds odd because it seems like those would be opposite words, but that isn’t exactly true. This is why: The citizens of Amsterdam are easy going. They are friendly and willing to help if you ask. BUT the center of Amsterdam attracts many different characters. Specifically though, loud groups of British and Irish 20 something guys (surprising I know *sarcasm*). That being said, I didn’t mind either trait. It made the city feel alive and welcoming.

I loved Amsterdam. I think a lot of it had to do with the similarities I drew between the city and my hometown. Amsterdam many canals were shadowed by tall, thin buildings that were characteristically Dutch. There weren’t too many buildings that looked even remotely modern. The houses had huge windows with beautiful shutters; the canals were lined with all kinds of boat houses. The small shops were built into the Dutch style rather than the buildings accommodating the stores. Then, in the main tourist strips, it still didn’t feel like it was consuming the city.

I took a bus on Thursday and arrived Friday morning (longest ride of my life) and left on Sunday afternoon. I stayed at The Flying Pig Uptown for one night, and The Bulldog for the last two nights. Both are very well known hostels, but they were clean, comfy, and friendly. I covered all the basic landmarks and more. The Rijksmuseum was huge and I spent a solid 4 hours there. I ended up being more interested in the special exhibits though. They had this maritime display that had over a hundred different sized models of warships. I visited the Anne Frank house with a couple other people from my program on the last day. The space that the family hid in was actually larger than I imagined. That isn’t to say that it was a comfortable living space for 8 people. I walked around Jordaan and the Albert Cuyp Market and the Red Light District. I also visited The Hermitage (which is based off the one in Russia), which had an awesome exhibit about the Silk Road. Also, the Dutch know how to do pancakes and fries (not together). They are delicious and perfect and crispy and awesome.

All in all, the trip was fantastic. There wasn’t too much to tell about where I went, because I only visited a few museums. I spent a lot of the time walking around the different neighborhoods, and taking pictures of graffiti and bridges. Regardless, I loved Amsterdam and it made me feel like I was back at home again.

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Wow, so my last blog entry was almost a whole month ago. Oops. Long story short, I had midterms after my Alps trip and kind of put off the blog…then I forgot about it. Now, one month later, I feel like an idiot. As a result, I will be posting four blogs in the next four days. So let’s get into what I’ve been doing for the past month.

Midterms, ugh. They are the worst, and I think I can say with confidence that nobody likes them. Taking midterms in Europe is a different experience than in America. To start off, only one of my tests had “short answers” and even then, they were paragraph long short answers. Every test was structured in an essay format. It wasn’t fun. The German test was difficult, but there weren’t too many surprises. One thing I noticed that was very different was the preparation leading up to the tests. A couple teachers gave us a paper that had the topics we should study. The other two (excluding German) didn’t tell the class anything really. For my history class, she gave us a timeline sheet of important dates and told us that we should just reread everything; also, not to worry about anything we learned on our excursions (nearly every Wednesday we go to a museum or landmark). It wasn’t much to go on. Now my psychoanalysis class, that was on a whole other level of non-preparation.  Not only had he not really given us much to take note on in class, but didn’t tell us anything that could be on the test. (There is a long winded reason for the lack of notes, but it will lead to me going into a very pleasant rant about the class. To be clear: Psychoanalysis class= nicht gut) Actually, we went on a trip to the Freud House museum, and he had mentioned that there would be a couple questions on the midterm about it. I guess he did technically give us a miniscule insight about a couple questions on the test. All in all, it was characteristic of how the class had been so far, but that still didn’t make it fair.

I have gotten my test results back for all classes. I did well enough on my tests, so I won’t complain (too much). Now that I know the finals are going to be set up the same as the midterms, I can better prepare for them. I unquestionably like the way we do midterms, and the preparation for them, better in the US than here. Granted, I do realize that it’s just a cultural difference and respect that.

Tomorrow’s blog: My trip to Amsterdam

Location: Vienna, Austria

After a month and a half abroad, I’ve come to the realization that I ask people if they speak English a lot. For this reason, I made a goal for myself: by the time my study abroad is over, I want to be able to ask “Do you speak English?” in at least 8 different languages. I mostly just like the irony of it. 

 I shook hands with Ronald Reagan!

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Last week, my program gave us a week off between the 3 week intensive German period and the start of regular classes. So with that, I left Wednesday night and took an over night trip to Rome. I choose to go to Italy because my friend from home was studying there, but she was going to Florence for the weekend which is where I was meeting with her. I have literally wanted to go to Rome since I was a little kid, even before I got the idea that I wanted to see the world. I initially thought about choosing Rome to study abroad, but I decided against it because of how touristy it has become. I wanted something a bit more natural and authentic, which I happily found in Austria. Regardless, the architecture and history that embodies Rome is so incredible to me.

Location: Rome, Italy